In the last set of my favorite music videos of the year, we saw commendable visual performances from the likes of Shakira, Sharon Needles and Nicole Scherzinger. For the next five videos on the list, prepare yourself for an unfortunate beauty pageant, a cheating husband and a rebellious yard sale. Shall we get to it already?
#20. "Pretty Hurts" by Beyonce
Though technically released in 2013, along with its parent album, the music video for "Pretty Hurts", by the always innovative Beyonce, did not get the official go ahead until April 2014 (so it's eligible for my list). As the artist struggles to remain thin and poised in a depressing beauty pageant, she also deals with the pressure of perfection and what it really means to be happy. In the seven-minute mini film, Beyonce's incredible features and evident sadness shine through as she forces the audience to wonder why our society focuses so much on appearance and body image. It's real.
#19. "Yard Sale" by Neon Hitch
After a shelved album and the departure from her previous record label, gypsy pop creator Neon Hitch shed the filth to make way for a new beginning in her rebellious "Yard Sale" music video. Whether it's the scenes of the artist seductively licking a pint of Ben & Jerry's, selling her ex-boyfriend to a couple of interested gentlemen or playing with paint in the middle of a swimming pool, the visual was a bright and honest release, much like the artist herself. It all leads up to the last ten seconds which sums up the video's meaning of forgetting the trouble past for a fresh, clean slate.
#18. "I'm Not the Only One" by Sam Smith
Though Sam Smith takes the backseat in his own visual for "I'm Not the Only One", the vibrant Diannea Agron perfectly conveys the heartbroken emotions of the song as a scorned lover who is coping with the recently discovered infidelity of her husband. How does she cope you might ask? By setting all his possessions on fire, smoking and crying hysterically in the middle of her kitchen. All that, just to welcome the cheater back into her life with nothing but a smile at the end. The storyline may be depressing, but the sophisticated aesthetic makes for a big screen drama I'd love to see.
#17. "Ugly Heart" by G.R.L.
Before the tragic death of Simone Battle, power girl group G.R.L. released the "good girl gone bad" music video for "Ugly Heart", definitely one of the better pop songs of the year. As the five troublemakers are led out of a tattoo parlor by police officers, the girls find the perfect opportunity to bust out in song and dance in cop cars, on desks at the police station and during a line up for the crime they don't deny committing. Dressed to the nines in extravagant, over-the-top clothing, viewers get to get a glimpse of each of the girls' personalities as they take revenge on their lying lover.
#16. "But Beautiful" by Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga
People automatically think music videos should be cinematic masterpieces complete with special effects and storylines, however, sometimes all that nonsense is unnecessary. "But Beautiful", a classic featured on the new Cheek To Cheek album from Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, is a career high for both artists involved. The studio recording music video is all the showstopping performance needed in the end. Besides highlighting what occurs in any recording studio, the simple and sweet visual allows viewers to see the real chemistry between the two talented artists. It's a nice change for Gaga.
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